Art Dubai’s Modern section was curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, who chose to present 11 single modern artists booth from the Arab world, Iran and India. This section was accompanied by the Art Dubai Modern Talks which took place over two days (10th-11th March), at the ARM Majlis. These talks were held in partnership with the Dubai Collection, the topics examined the life, work and influences of 20th century Modern masters from the Middle East and North Africa. These important artists’ works form the art history of the region from the turn of the 20th century to the 1980s and the talks significantly added to existing scholarship and research.
Participants included Art Dubai Modern Curator Sam Bardaouil, independent Emirati curator Munira Al Sayegh, Yasmin Atassi, Director, Green Art Gallery, Basel Dalloul, Director, Dalloul Art Foundation. Charles Pocock, Founder, Meem Gallery, Fatenn Mostafa Kanafani, Founder of ArtTalks Egypt and Art Historian on Modern Egyptian Art, Valerie Didier, Specialist, Impressionist & Modern Art, Christie’s Art Historian in Modern Egyptian Art George Al Ama, Academic, Collector, and Researcher in Palestinian Art and Material Culture, Nima Sagharchi, Director of Middle Eastern, Islamic and South Asian Art at Bonhams, Carlo Rizzo, Special Advisor, The Dubai Collection and Art Dubai’s Regional Director Hala Khayat.
A series of by-invitation closed-sessions for the people in the industry took place over two days at the Modern Talks, where preliminary fact findings on artists estates and tracing authenticity were discussed. The results of these conversations will be published in the June 2022 issue of Selections Arts.
